# Arcadia Invitational

The Arcadia Invitational is a high school track and field meet in the United States. It is considered the most competitive meet in the country and has been billed as the "Home of National Records". The meet is held at Arcadia High School in Arcadia, California, on either the first or second weekend in April each year. The Arcadia Invitational attracts the top prep athletes in the United States and internationally (Canada, Mexico, Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, Argentina, and Brazil have been represented in recent years). The Arcadia Invitational has played host to 32 national high school records and has helped to produce 179 U.S. Olympians.

## History

In 1968, Arcadia High School track coach Doug Smith had an idea for an evening track and field meet for all the area schools. The first invitational was held more than 50 years ago, with 23 schools and six track clubs participating. Arcadia graduate Tracy Smith was the first of many future Olympic athletes to be a winner in the Arcadia Invitational. He went on to participate in the 1968 Mexico City Olympics. 1970 is the year that Doug Smith felt was a giant step in the development of the meet into more of a "Southern California" event. Santa Ana Coach Earl Engman, who was the Meet Director of the CIF-Southern Section championship affairs, entered his championship squad from Orange County, enhancing the event with the members of his top program from the greater San Gabriel Valley.
The invitational has since gone on to produce 32 U.S. high school records and 179 U.S. Olympians up to and including the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials.
In 2002, the meet expanded from a single-day competition to a two-day affair as the newly formed Friday portion consisted of additional relays (sprint medleys, shuttle hurdles, 4x800, etc.) not common at most meets. In 2004, another (third) section of field events competition also was added to the Friday schedule.
In 2008, the Arcadia Multis were added on the Thursday-Friday of meet week, allowing top decathletes and heptathletes the chance to compete. It has become the premier multi-events competition for high schoolers, with both national decathlon records (high school implements and international implements) for boys achieved there. In 2010, the deepest quality field of high school heptathletes was featured.
The Arcadia Invitational is now among the largest outdoor high school meets in the United States, with more than 4,000 high school athletes competing. In terms of participation numbers, it is also the largest high school sporting event in the nation that is hosted on a high school campus.
As of 2017, Arcadia High School organization, Apache News, live streams the field events for the meet. They provide live coverage of the event split into three live streams, the first covering the pole vault and high jump, the second covering long jump and triple jump, and the third covering shotput and discus.

## 3200 meters

Amongst all the high-quality performers featured annually, the boys' 3200-meter event has become a signature event for inspiring top performances. The competitive environment and ideal weather allows many elite male athletes to break the 9-minute barrier for the first time. At the 2017 meet, an unprecedented 27 athletes broke 9 minutes (25 in the invitational section and 2 in the seeded section).

## Meet records
### Boys

Boys' meeting records of the Arcadia Invitational :
| Event | Record | Athlete | School | Date |
| 100 m | 10.17 | Noah Lyles | T.C. Williams | 2016 |
| 200 m | 20.48 | Noah Lyles | T.C. Williams | 2016 |
| 400 m | 45.51 | Michael Norman | Vista Murrieta | 2016 |
| 800 m | 1:47.96 | Michael Granville | Bell Gardens | 1995 |
| 1600 m | 3:59.51+ | Alan Webb | South Lakes | 2001 |
| Mile | 4:01.81 | Alan Webb | South Lakes | 2001 |
| 3200 m | 8:34.10 | Simeon Birnbaum | Stevens | 8 April 2023 |
| 5000 m | 13:55.96 | Chris Derrick | Neuqua Valley | 2008 |
| 110 m hurdles | 13.43 | Johnathan Cabral | Agoura | 2011 |
| 300 m hurdles | 35.45 | David Klech | California | 2006 |
| High jump | 7-3.00 | Mike Morrison | Willingboro | 2003 |
| Pole vault | 18-02.50 | Sondre Guttormsen | Davis | 2018 |
| Long jump | 25-3.75 | Dion Bentley | Penn Hills | 1989 |
| Triple jump | 51-7.50 | Will Claye | Mountain Pointe | 2009 |
| Shot put | 71-4.25 | Brent Noon | Fallbrook | 1990 |
| Discus throw | 234-03 | Niklas Arrhenius | Mountain View | 2001 |
| Decathlon - International implements | 7524 pts | Gunnar Nixon | Edmond Santa Fe | 2011 |
| Decathlon - High School implements | 7909 pts | Curtis Beach | Albuquerque | 2009 |
| 4 × 100 m relay | 40.28 | John Muir High School | Muir | 1997 |
| 4 × 200 m relay | 1:24.15 | Jaden Smith Jaxon Harley Rashon Luke Jabari Bates | St. John Bosco | 8 April 2022 |
| 4 × 400 m relay | 3:08.92 | John Muir High School | Muir | 1996 |
| 4 × 800 m relay | 7:42.36 | Long Beach Polytechnic High School | Long Beach Poly | 2003 |
| 4 × 1600 m relay | 16:41.30 | American Fork High School | American Fork | 2017 |
| Distance medley relay | 9:57.88 | Atlantic Community High School | Atlantic Community | 2001 |
| 800 m Sprint medley relay (1-1-2-4) | 1:28.43 | Long Beach Polytechnic High School | Long Beach Poly | 2007 |
| 1600 m Sprint medley relay (2-2-4-8) | 3:26.36 | Los Alamitos High School | Los Alamitos | 2016 |
| 4 × 110 m Shuttle hurdle relay | 57.10 | Davis Davis-Lyric Kai Graves-Blanks DeQuan January Delaney Crawford | Upland | 8 April 2022 |

### Girls

Girls' meeting records of the Arcadia Invitational :
| Event | Record | Athlete | School | Date |
| 100 m | 11.32 | Angela Williams | Chino Hills | 1998 |
| 200 m | 22.87 | Marion Jones | Rio Mesa | 1991 |
| 400 m | 52.51 | Monique Henderson | Morse | 2001 |
| 800 m | 2:05.42 | Allison Ince | Normal Community | 9 April 2022 |
| 1600 m | 4:32.48 | Sadie Engelhardt | Ventura | 6 April 2024 |
| Mile | 4:34.31 | Sadie Engelhardt | Ventura | 5 April 2024 |
| 3200 m | 9:52.66 | Irene Riggs | Morgantown | 8 April 2023 |
| 100 m hurdles | 13.01 (+1.0 m/s) | Tara Davis | Agoura | 2017 |
| 300 m hurdles | 38.90 | Sydney McLaughlin | Union Catholic | 8 April 2017 |
| High jump | 6-02 | Vashti Cunningham | Bishop Gorman | 2014 |
| Pole vault | 4.57 m (14 ft 11+3⁄4 in) | Hana Moll | Capital | 8 April 2023 |
| Long jump | 20-09.75 | Jernae Wright | James Logan | 1995 |
| Triple jump | 43-05.00 | Brittany Daniels | Merrill West | 2005 |
| Shot put | 52-1.25 | Stamatia Scarvelis | Dos Pueblos | 2014 |
| Discus throw | 185-5 | Anna Jelmini | Shafter | 2009 |
| Heptathlon | 5225 pts | Ashley Smith | Millikan | 2010 |
| 4 × 100 m relay | 44.95 | Long Beach Polytechnic High School | Long Beach Poly | 2004 |
| 4 × 200 m relay | 1:33.87 | Long Beach Polytechnic High School | Long Beach Poly | 2004 |
| 4 × 400 m relay | 3:39.12 | Wilson High School | Wilson | 2001 |
| 4 × 800 m relay | 8:58.30 | A. Randolph High School | A. Randolph | 2002 |
| 4 × 1600 m relay | 19:56.08 | Ell Lomeli Sierra Cornett Grace Hutchison Sydney Sundgren | Buchanan | 8 April 2022 |
| 800 m Sprint medley relay (1-1-2-4) | 1:38.73 | Long Beach Polytechnic High School | Long Beach Poly | 2003 |
| 1600 m Sprint medley relay (2-2-4-8) | 3:56.34 | Harvard-Westlake High School | Studio City | 2011 |
| Distance medley relay | 11:40.89 | Harvard-Westlake School | Harvard-Westlake | 2011 |
| 4 × 100 m Shuttle hurdle relay | 57.17 | Vacaville High School | Vacaville | 2014 |